Chapter 685 The Burden Borne By The King (2)

Farest hadn't been able to make that gamble. He had decided to instead try to stall the orcs while hoping that something would change. And indeed something did. The Chosen, while weak, brought with them many manners of interesting things. However, even this was not enough to ensure victory outright.

However, Eldrian's ability to scout the enemy perfectly was one thing that was indeed capable of changing the tides of the war. While the kingdom still could not kill the warlords, the warlords could not conquer a city without an army. Finally, they had a chance.

'In the end, the orcs decided to take the gamble that I could not...' Farest sighed, when the orcs finally realized that their army was only going to continue to be weakened and that there was no way for them to fight this omnipotent information that the kingdom seems to have, they resolved to settle it in one charge.

Their collective force had certainly been overwhelming. Seeing them crush the outer walls with ease and do the same to the first inner wall, even while under fire from cannon and magic tower alike had resolved Farest that his decision had been the right one.

While the price had been grave, the orcs had pressed on.

This scene played out before him again, where the artifact and he stood, had just a few days prior stood a proud gatehouse. Nothing of it remained after both the warlords' attacks and the annihilation cannon's fire. Yet, even it had not been able to kill the warlords.

However, it had wounded them and killed hundred of weaker orcs. It had allowed Vlisia to change the tides of war. Without it, the city might truly have been lost. Even after using it and the strongest attacks that the magic towers could send out, the orcs still pressed on with determination. Blinded by a barbaric rage.

While heavily wounded, outnumbered, and outgunned, they still fought on. They even managed to reach the second inner wall where Farest had been standing. Most of the lower city beyond the second inner was devastated in the following battle.

Seeing this play out again made it extremely clear to Farest that he had done right by not taking the gamble back when the orcs started invading. Even after months of harassment and conquering a quarter of the kingdom, their forces were still strong enough to crush a corner city of the kingdom with ease.

The only reason they hadn't used brute force like this was that the cost would be too much and would force them to stop their invasion to recover. No one knew why they decided to do it once it was clear they could no longer take their time to bleed the city. After all, they were bleeding faster than Vlisia thanks to Eldrian's information allowing the kingdom to lay hundred of traps for the orcs to step into.

The only reason Vlisia had stood strong here was not the annihilation cannon. No, it was that Farest's father and Duke Voda had struck right when the warlords had started becoming relaxed. While the damage dealt to the orcs had been great, it had appeared to them that there was no one capable of stopping them. And that was when the only two Tier 10 individuals of the kingdom struck.

'This artifact is truly amazing...' Farest was astonished at how much lighter he felt, what the artifact had shown him was precisely what he needed to see.

It hurt no less knowing that his orders had led his guardian -his teacher and second father- to his death. But it helped him understand that what he had done had indeed saved the kingdom. Having seen the might of the orcs, Farest felt almost certain his father and Duke Voda would have been unable to defeat them without them being injured, and having them waste such a great deal of their mana and stamina in their attack.

'I understand now how it helps one overcome grief. The pain remains, but the blame you place yourself under is lifted...' Farest felt truly grateful to Eldrian who had made this happen. His past few days had been nights with little to no sleep. The reports he received simply entered one ear and flew out the other as if there was nothing between the two.

It would have taken him months to slowly build himself back up, to convince himself that he did the right thing. Yet, he was now certain.

He still had regrets. So many ifs, the most prominent; if only on that day he had assigned Sodren to another gate...

If, if, if...

But what was done was done.

'This is the burden I must bear as a king, a heavy one I must bear alone.' Farest thought of Eldrian, having met the elf a few months prior in the forest of Pyknos. The elf had been disrespectful but had great insight.

He was not someone the king would want to rely on, but he had proven himself more than capable back then and now. Only his words had no filter and he saw no one above him. To Farest, this was an unfamiliar concept. To have someone talk to him like an equal who was not his family was vexing.

He had kept his anger to himself and even calmed Sodren's rage. In the months since he had learned more of the Chosen and came to realize that most of them acted similarly. Their world was much different from Gaia.

'Perhaps I should rely more on the elf. He is still weak I presume, but I heard he has recently gone to the duke city of Tania. It appears he is close to my magic-loving niece. It would accomplish much to maintain some sort of management over him. If we are to recover the lost cities the Chosen are going to be a must for they are the only ones who would not die.'

'We cannot afford more losses, but we cannot abandon the resources in those cities and surrounding lands. I suspect another attack from the undead in a year or two and the kingdoms to our east and west have fallen. Phallos behind us is now under severe pressure to...'

The king frowned, if Phallos was destroyed then they would become an island separated from the rest of the empire. While they had always had the chaos lands between them and other kingdoms, this would create an even greater divide. They would almost certainly be crushed once that happened.

'Perhaps I should send that elf there?' Farest pondered. No one had been able to uncover the source of the aura of death, most had even failed to consider Mana Examination as an option to investigate the undead.

Perhaps, just perhaps, Eldrian could figure out something in the chaos lands. Why it surrounded the kingdom. Though saying it surrounded the kingdom was not quite right, it would be more apt to say that the kingdom has grown to fill the land that this ring of chaos lands encircled.

'If I were to do this however I would need to inform him of the kingdom's secrets. I am not sure if I can trust him with such dangerous knowledge that even father has yet fully shared with me.' Farest had only been thought enough to be able to unlock these secrets once he reached Tier 10.

As per their ancestors' warnings, they could not share this information with someone who did not have the mental fortitude to not be corrupted by it. Knowing this, Farest had been in no haste to dive into these secrets, ignorance was bliss after all.

However, for his kingdom, he would strive to become stronger. To unlock these secrets and truly take on the role of king.

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